Controversial plans to replace ITV’s Southbank studios with new skyscrapers approved. MIPIM: the global property fair where London’s public housing is bought and sold. A conservation row erupts over plans to demolish the 1980s Angel Square in Islington. And the Royal Institute of British Architects seeks a new head of culture just as its diversity chief resigns only one year into the role. Hattie Hartman joins Merlin Fulcher to discuss the big stories in London's architecture, planning and development scene.The Londown is produced by Open City and the London Society in association with with the Architects’ Journal. If you enjoyed the show, we recommend you subscribe to the AJ for all the latest news, building studies, expert opinion, cultural analysis, and business intelligence from the UK architecture industry. Listeners can save 15% on a subscription using this link. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Open City presents Episode One, Season Two of Words on Wood, a podcast series created by the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) in conjunction with Disegno journal, that delves deep into the big questions surrounding forests, the timber industry, and the use of wood as a design material.With architecture under more pressure than ever to improve the sustainability of buildings, this episode of Words on Wood looks at the potential for timber structures to reshape the field. Given the opportunities and challenges facing the construction of tall timber buildings, what role does wood have to play in the future of our built environment? Engineer Andrew Lawrence and architect Lina Ghotmeh discuss the complexities of the issues.About Words on WoodDrawing on interviews and analysis from charismatic industry experts and fascinating figures from across the creative sector, Words on Wood takes a 360º view of timber and its journey from tree to finished application. Featuring contributions and case studies from the worlds of design and architecture, the podcast explores the ways in which we care for and harvest our forests can have far-reaching consequences across the creative fields, and for the world at large.Each season sees Disegno’s editors Oli Stratford and India Block navigate the complex intersections between the worlds of forestry and design, focusing in on topics such as timber construction, illegal logging, carbon capture, advancing technologies, boundary-pushing designers, and the enduring power of craft. Alongside regular episodes are Tree Shorts – a collection of bite-size episodes each dedicated to a particular tree and the properties of its timber, as revealed through a selected design project that makes use of its distinct qualities.Subscribe here or search for 'Words on Wood' whereover you get your podcasts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Join critic Phin Harper and head of Accelerate Siraaj Mitha to chew through the week's big stories in London's architecture, housing and planning worlds. On the Londown this week, a Cambridge eco-mosque tipped to win the Stirling Prize, the ARB shake-up architectural education, City of London vetoes new skyscraper next to listed synagogue, an alleged ‘unfair’ estate demolition ballot in Tottenham, iconic post-war housing set to be flattened in massive Lambeth redevelopment, and the life and legacy of the late great Owen Luder.Support the Londown and Open City in making London's built environment more open and equitable by donating the equivalent of one flat white a month to the charity so it can keep making the Londown, staging the free Open House Festival and delivering important educational work supporting children and young people from under-represented backgrounds. Go to open-city.org.uk/flatwhite. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode, host Merlin Fulcher is joined by Dr Jane Hall, architectural historian and founding member of the Turner Prize-winning collective Assemble. Together they discuss:Lords call for stronger leadership for the government’s new towns // The UK’s largest architecture firm reports record-breaking turnover amid a surge in global projects // Campaigners against the old Museum of London’s demolition win the right to appeal // And they are the biggest cars on the road… could a new tax on sports utility vehicles raise £2 billion for the UK?Subscribe to the Open City Podcast on Spotify, Soundcloud or iTunesThe Open City Podcast is supported by Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture platform and produced in association with the Architects’ Journal, London Society, C20 Society and Save Britain's Heritage.The Open City Podcast is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. Bureau is a co-working space for creatives offering a new approach to membership workspace. Bureau prioritises not just room to think and do, but also shared resources and space to collaborate.To help support excellent and accessible, independent journalism about the buildings and the urban environment, please become an Open City Friend. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode, host Sahiba Chadha is joined by architecture and design writer and features editor at STIR. Anmol Ahuja. Together they discuss:Can the new housing secretary deliver on the government’s 1.5 million homes pledge? // The shortlist for this year’s RIBA Stirling Prize is revealed // Greenwich and Kent merger to create the UK’s first ‘super-university’ // And a Finnish architect wins the contest for a Helsinki site which has been the focus of thousands of competing designsSubscribe to the Open City Podcast on Spotify, Soundcloud or iTunesThe Open City Podcast is supported by Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture platform and produced in association with the Architects’ Journal, London Society, C20 Society and Save Britain's Heritage.The Open City Podcast is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. Bureau is a co-working space for creatives offering a new approach to membership workspace. Bureau prioritises not just room to think and do, but also shared resources and space to collaborate.To help support excellent and accessible, independent journalism about the buildings and the urban environment, please become an Open City Friend. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode Matthew Lloyd Roberts was joined by Nigel Smith, who runs ‘Memory Palaces’, a website and programme of walking tours to explore the history of London’s cinemas. They discussed the Carlton Cinema on Essex Road, Islington, which first opened to the public in a grand ceremony in 1930, and represents the changing fashions and fate for cinema-going throughout the 20th-century.Nigel will be giving walking tours of London cinemas over the coming months, including the Carlton. For more information, check out his website:https://memorypalaces.co.uk/walks/former-carlton-cinema/Subscribe to the Open City Podcast on Spotify, Soundcloud or iTunesThe Open City Podcast is supported by Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture platform and produced in association with the Architects’ Journal, London Society, C20 Society and Save Britain's Heritage.The Open City Podcast is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. Bureau is a co-working space for creatives offering a new approach to membership workspace. Bureau prioritises not just room to think and do, but also shared resources and space to collaborate.To help support excellent and accessible, independent journalism about the buildings and the urban environment, please become an Open City Friend. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode, host Fran Williams is joined by Open House Festival Director Celia Mead. Celia is a management consultant who has run major organisations and cultural heritage festivals to discuss: Less than ten days until Open House Festival 2025 // Environmental concerns over plans to redevelop Liverpool Street Station // An unexpected fall in UK house prices // And Donald Trump’s campaign to ‘Make Federal Architecture Beautiful Again’Subscribe to the Open City Podcast on Spotify, Soundcloud or iTunesThe Open City Podcast is supported by Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture platform and produced in association with the Architects’ Journal, London Society, C20 Society and Save Britain's Heritage.The Open City Podcast is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. Bureau is a co-working space for creatives offering a new approach to membership workspace. Bureau prioritises not just room to think and do, but also shared resources and space to collaborate.To help support excellent and accessible, independent journalism about the buildings and the urban environment, please become an Open City Friend. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Buzzwords is a new pilot podcast from Open City, produced in collaboration with the arts and culture podcast EMPIRE LINES. The podcast unpacks words and phrases often overused in the fields of art and architecture. Produced by curator, writer, and researcher Jelena Sofronijevic, each episode invites artists, curators, architects, and academics to consider what we really mean when we use terms like “sustainable” or “decolonised.”In this episode, Jelena speaks with artist Jasmina Cibic about the idea of “care thinking” and what it means to be both care-ful and care-less in the practice, performance, and preservation of art and cultural artefacts. Their conversation ranges from Cibic’s current exhibition The Gift Ecology at Void Art Centre in Derry, to her representation of Slovenia at the 55th Venice Biennale, exploring how care shapes her work and what we might learn from it.The theme music is “Devotion” by Jim Hall from the Free Music Archive, licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License.Subscribe to the Open City Podcast on Spotify, Soundcloud or iTunesThe Open City Podcast is supported by Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture platform and produced in association with the Architects’ Journal, London Society, C20 Society and Save Britain's Heritage.The Open City Podcast is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. Bureau is a co-working space for creatives offering a new approach to membership workspace. Bureau prioritises not just room to think and do, but also shared resources and space to collaborate.To help support excellent and accessible, independent journalism about the buildings and the urban environment, please become an Open City Friend. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode, host Merlin Fulcher is joined by the Head of Climate Action and Public Health at Love Design Studio and Shade the UK, Polly Turton. Together, they discuss the biggest stories this week in architecture and planning news:Warnings over dangerously hot UK homes amid a fourth heatwave this year // The search begins for design teams to upgrade Oxford Street // Brick Lane regeneration plans symbolically rejected // And how a North London school hall could become the UK’s first Museum of Brutalist ArchitectureSubscribe to the Open City Podcast on Spotify, Soundcloud or iTunesThe Open City Podcast is supported by Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture platform and produced in association with the Architects’ Journal, London Society, C20 Society and Save Britain's Heritage.The Open City Podcast is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. Bureau is a co-working space for creatives offering a new approach to membership workspace. Bureau prioritises not just room to think and do, but also shared resources and space to collaborate.To help support excellent and accessible, independent journalism about the buildings and the urban environment, please become an Open City Friend. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode, the second of a trilogy to mark 60 years since the end of the London County Council, Matthew Lloyd Roberts was joined by Dr Ruth Lang. They discussed London County Hall, the purpose-built home of the London County Council which sits on the south bank of the Thames at Westminster. It was designed by Ralph Knott and built from 1911–1939 and was the home of London’s Municipal government until the abolition of the Greater London Council in 1986.Subscribe to the Open City Podcast on Spotify, Soundcloud or iTunesThe Open City Podcast is supported by Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture platform and produced in association with the Architects’ Journal, London Society, C20 Society and Save Britain's Heritage.The Open City Podcast is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. Bureau is a co-working space for creatives offering a new approach to membership workspace. Bureau prioritises not just room to think and do, but also shared resources and space to collaborate.To help support excellent and accessible, independent journalism about the buildings and the urban environment, please become an Open City Friend. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode, host Merlin Fulcher is joined by the architecture journalist and co-host of The Brief Fran Williams. Together, they discuss the biggest stories this week in architecture and planning news:Kew Gardens opens a brand new carbon garden and pavilion // Conservation groups unite to rescue a Brutalist gem in the Scottish borders // Restoration plans for Bexhill’s De La Warr Pavilion revealed // And an opportunity for built environment exhibits inside one of London’s greatest postmodern landmarks Subscribe to the Open City Podcast on Spotify, Soundcloud or iTunesThe Open City Podcast is supported by Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture platform and produced in association with the Architects’ Journal, London Society, C20 Society and Save Britain's Heritage.The Open City Podcast is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. Bureau is a co-working space for creatives offering a new approach to membership workspace. Bureau prioritises not just room to think and do, but also shared resources and space to collaborate.To help support excellent and accessible, independent journalism about the buildings and the urban environment, please become an Open City Friend. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
InterCities is a six-part podcast series from Open City. In it, we travel to a number of cities and boroughs around the world that have transformed over time to discover what we can learn from these places’ achievements, struggles, successes and mistakes.In this episode, our host Owen Hatherley is joined by Brian Hioe, a Taiwanese-American writer and academic based in Taipei, known for co-founding New Bloom Magazine and for his work exploring Taiwan’s youth movements, politics, and culture. His 2025 debut novel, Taipei at Daybreak, blends activism and fiction to explore the emotional motivations and alienation behind the Sunflower Movement from a ground‑level perspective. We use the novel to talk about Taipei’s shifting identity, the colonial ghosts the city is haunted by and how the architectural and urban spaces of Taipei shape the city's social and political movements. Subscribe to the Open City Podcast on Spotify, Soundcloud or iTunesThe Open City Podcast is supported by Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture platform and produced in association with the Architects’ Journal, London Society, C20 Society and Save Britain's Heritage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode, host Sahiba Chadha will be joined by guest Mike Althorpe, an architectural researcher at Karakusevic Carson Architects and the mastermind behind The London Ambler tours. They will be discussing:The programme for this year’s Open House Festival goes live // Bold plans to pedestrianise London’s West End revealed // A last chance to save Milton Keynes landmark pyramid from demolition // And could nightclubbing offer a lifeline to London’s troubled office blocks?Subscribe to the Open City Podcast on Spotify, Soundcloud or iTunesThe Open City Podcast is supported by Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture platform and produced in association with the Architects’ Journal, London Society, C20 Society and Save Britain's Heritage.The Open City Podcast is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. Bureau is a co-working space for creatives offering a new approach to membership workspace. Bureau prioritises not just room to think and do, but also shared resources and space to collaborate.To help support excellent and accessible, independent journalism about the buildings and the urban environment, please become an Open City Friend. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode of Deconstructed, host Matthew Lloyd Roberts is joined by Shukri Sultan, a lecturer at Westminster University, to explore the story of Al Manaar Mosque in West London. Together, they unpack how this unassuming building became a vital hub for faith, community, and resilience — especially in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire.Correction, the correct meaning of the word masjid is not "place of prayer", a more accurate translation would be "place of prostration”.The end quote is attributed to Mariyama Sanyang, Community Coordinator at Al Manaar, who took the time to speak with Shukri about the many wonderful things the centre offers the local community, as well as her personal connection to the space. You can learn more about her work through her Instagram: @callmemaryiama.From its architectural form to its social function, Al Manaar offers a powerful lens into how buildings serve more than just physical needs — they shape and shelter the emotional and cultural lives of their communities.Join us as we examine the mosque’s design, its role in public life, and what it reveals about the broader relationship between built space and belonging.The Open City Podcast is supported by Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture app and produced in association with the Architects’ Journal, London Society, C20 Society and Save Britain's Heritage.To help support excellent and accessible, independent journalism about the buildings and the urban environment, please become an Open City friend by clicking here.Deconstructed is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. Bureau is a co-working space for creatives offering a new approach to membership workspace. Bureau prioritises not just room to think and do, but also shared resources and space to collaborate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode, host and Open City architectural director Merlin Fulcher will be joined by guest Sarah Carrington, the new Director of The Line, a public art trail that connects Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and The O2. They will be discussing:Norman Foster picked to design Queen Elizabeth’s memorial // The majority of architects are now using AI according to a new study // A major low-carbon heating project gets the green light in Oxford // And SAVE Britain’s Heritage reveals its latest Buildings At Risk registerSubscribe to the Open City Podcast on Spotify, Soundcloud or iTunesThe Open City Podcast is supported by Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture platform and produced in association with the Architects’ Journal, London Society, C20 Society and Save Britain's Heritage.The Open City Podcast is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. Bureau is a co-working space for creatives offering a new approach to membership workspace. Bureau prioritises not just room to think and do, but also shared resources and space to collaborate.To help support excellent and accessible, independent journalism about the buildings and the urban environment, please become an Open City Friend. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
InterCities is a six-part podcast series from Open City. In it, we travel to a number of cities and boroughs around the world that have transformed over time to discover what we can learn from these places’ achievements, struggles, successes and mistakes.In this episode, our host Owen Hatherley is joined by the Israeli-born, UK-based academic and writer Dr Yair Wallach who specialises in the urban history of the Middle East. Today the focus is his 2020 book “A City in Fragments: Urban Text in Modern Jerusalem” which explores the city's history through ephemera and urban text and we use it to look more closely at the history of the city of Jerusalem under the British mandate (1918 - 1948). During this time, the British sought to impose a timeless image on Jerusalem and a number of intriguing characters - including Arts and Crafts architect CR Ashby - were involved in its aesthetic transformation. We also look at the Palestinians who challenged British and Zionist narratives through modernist and poetic expressions and whether an understanding of this time can help us in the context of the conflict today. Subscribe to the Open City Podcast on Spotify, Soundcloud or iTunesThe Open City Podcast is supported by Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture platform and produced in association with the Architects’ Journal, London Society, C20 Society and Save Britain's Heritage.The Open City Podcast is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. Bureau is a co-working space for creatives offering a new approach to membership workspace. Bureau prioritises not just room to think and do, but also shared resources and space to collaborate.To help support excellent and accessible, independent journalism about the buildings and the urban environment, please become an Open City Friend.Photo credit: Owen Hatherley portrait © Antonio Olmos Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode, host Sahiba Chadha is joined by Sharon Giffen, Head of Design at The Earls Court Development Company and an architect with more than 20 years experience leading large scale masterplans and infrastructure projects. They will be discussing:Plymouth high street regeneration wins the 2025 Davidson Prize // From ‘living wage’ to ‘living hours, how an architecture firm is changing working life // Oxford Street’s pedestrianisation set to finally go ahead // And Open City’s Accelerate team is making waves at the AJ100 Awards Subscribe to the Open City Podcast on Spotify, Soundcloud or iTunesThe Open City Podcast is supported by Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture platform and produced in association with the Architects’ Journal, London Society, C20 Society and Save Britain's Heritage.The Open City Podcast is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. Bureau is a co-working space for creatives offering a new approach to membership workspace. Bureau prioritises not just room to think and do, but also shared resources and space to collaborate.To help support excellent and accessible, independent journalism about the buildings and the urban environment, please become an Open City Friend. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode of Deconstructed - the first of a trilogy to mark 60 years since the end of the London County Council - Matthew Lloyd Roberts is joined by Dr Dawn Pereira, historian of architectural sculpture and author of a forthcoming monograph on the artist William Mitchell. They discuss Crystal Palace Park, from its origins as the home of Joseph Paxton’s Crystal Palace, which was moved from the Great Exhibition at Hyde Park to form a permanent new collection on the hilltops of South London. After the destruction of the palace in a fire in 1936, the London County Council transformed the park, creating the National Sports Centre and a range of public art.Dawn is the organiser of a conference to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of the LCC, you can keep up with the initiative through their Instagram: @lcc_legacy https://www.instagram.com/lcc_legacy?igsh=MTVqZm9lbzYxNXZ2cw==To help support excellent and accessible, independent journalism about the buildings and the urban environment, please become an Open City friend by clicking here.Deconstructed is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. Bureau is a co-working space for creatives offering a new approach to membership workspace. Bureau prioritises not just room to think and do, but also shared resources and space to collaborate. To book a free day pass follow this link.Subscribe to the Open City Podcast on Spotify, Soundcloud or iTunesThe Open City Podcast is supported by Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture platform and produced in association with the Architects’ Journal, London Society, C20 Society and Save Britain's Heritage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode, host Sahiba Chadha is joined by Billy Reading, Inspector of Historic Buildings and Areas for Historic England to discuss:A major estate agent casts doubt over Labour’s housebuilding targets // Hawkins\Brown wins the contest to upgrade St Pancras // Campaigners call for Central YMCA’s listing // And Norman Foster celebrates his 90th birthdaySubscribe to the Open City Podcast on Spotify, Soundcloud or iTunesThe Open City Podcast is supported by Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture platform and produced in association with the Architects’ Journal, London Society, C20 Society and Save Britain's Heritage.The Open City Podcast is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. Bureau is a co-working space for creatives offering a new approach to membership workspace. Bureau prioritises not just room to think and do, but also shared resources and space to collaborate.To help support excellent and accessible, independent journalism about the buildings and the urban environment, please become an Open City Friend. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
InterCities is a six-part podcast series from Open City. In it, we travel to a number of cities and boroughs around the world that have transformed over time to discover what we can learn from these places’ achievements, struggles, successes and mistakes.In this episode, our host Owen Hatherley is joined by the Ukranian architect and urban historian Ievgeniia Gubkina. Gubkina was born in the northeastern Ukranian city of Kharkiv and lived there until the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, after which she fled with her teenage daughter and now lives in London in exile. Today, she talks to us about her upcoming publication “Kharkiv Architectural Guide” and we use it as a lens through which to explore the city’s changing architectural iterations. From a university hub to the capital of Soviet Ukraine, the avant-garde scene in the 1920s to the Stalinist-era "reconstruction" of Kharkiv's modernist buildings, we get a deep insight into the city’s past and a sober reminder of its present.TW: The content of this episode can be distressing for some people as it mentions suicide. If this affects you, contact the Samaritans, a free and confidential service available 24 hours a day. https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/Subscribe to the Open City Podcast on Spotify, Soundcloud or iTunesThe Open City Podcast is supported by Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture platform and produced in association with the Architects’ Journal, London Society, C20 Society and Save Britain's Heritage.The Open City Podcast is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. Bureau is a co-working space for creatives offering a new approach to membership workspace. Bureau prioritises not just room to think and do, but also shared resources and space to collaborate.To help support excellent and accessible, independent journalism about the buildings and the urban environment, please become an Open City Friend.Photo credit: Owen Hatherley portrait © Antonio Olmos Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.